Kerala is blessed with an abundance of dance forms. An infinite variety embracing the gamut form the individualistic to that involving the community the spiritual to the secular and the ritualistic to the satirical. This fecundity is a tribute to the distinct sociological evolution that our society has traced from tribal and agrarian beginnings to that of a modern polity.

…Probably unknown to her Dr. Kalamandalam Radhika through her lifelong dedication to Mohiniattam has become an artist’s foot soldier braving the onslaughts of rapacious commoditization. The beauty of the struggle is that her move on the treacherously shifting sands is a pane to the triumph of art over hegemonic hordes unfurling the pennants of cultural incision. Beyond these wider ideological moorings her performances with its sensuous and abiding charm haunt the soul.

Kalamandalam Radhika specialized in Mohiniattam having studied under the all time great Gurus like Late Chinnammu Amma and Kalamandalam Sathyabhama.

Radhikas’s forte is not confined to dancing alone. She has done extensive research for nine years on Mohiniattam. She is the pioneer to perform Mohiniattam in all languages. The press aptly calls her the Ambassador of Mohiniattam.

Radhika who ahs done her doctorate form trinity college in Mohiniattam has written numerous articles on Mohiniattam for the dance and music magazine Shrutilaya besides having submitted a paper on mohiniattam for the subject Dance education in schools at the seminar organized by the NCERT. Her article on Dance and God Realization has been put on the net by the University for Wales. She has also written for the weekly INDU published form Houston USA and article about the Devadasi system of Kerala.

Using the beautiful medium of Mohiniattam she has immortalized the poetical works of Kuvempu. Amruth Someshwar Veerappa Moily Fr. Abel and St. Chavara.

Kalamandalam Radhika has taken art as her life’s mission. Apart form propagating and promoting Mohiniattam she has formed a trust called the Nrithiya Dhara trust which she hopes becomes a Nithya Dhara trust. The money she generates through her performances and workshops benefits ages indigent artistic. Every year she helps to alienate the tears and hunger of a few long forgotten artists. This is her mission and the setting up an ole age home for these artists is her goal.

Nrithyadhara us a registers charitable trust formed with a view of helping aged indigent artist. Shri M.P. Veerendrakumar chairs this trust de. Kalamandalam Radhika is the Managing Trustee. Sri Joy Chemmaachal Fr. Dr. James Aerthayil and Fr. John Kallaracal are the trustees.

Kerala is blessed with an abundance of dance forms. An variety embracing the gamut from the individualistic to that involving the community the spiritual sociological evolution that our society has traces from tribal and agrarian beginnings to that of a modern polity.

The greatest challenge traditional arts forms which flourished under religions and to a lesser extent royal patronage faced in the modern age was the gradual cessation of such support. To survive coarser elements pandering to vulgar tastes were incorporated. This decay led to a crisis of confidence in the minds of the next generation of artists Dr. Kalamandalam Radhika ahs etched these aspects through its historical evolution insidious corruption and eventual revival with scholastic rigor in the following pages to beat repetition.

My vocation and pursuit, ill suit me to don the role of a connoisseur to the arts. The personal rapport I have shared with Dr. Radhika over the decades and the admiration I have felt towards her estimable work with Nrithyadhara an organization devoted to providing succor to destitute artists would have provided enough rationale to undertake this task. However I perceived and even more elemental challenge in this opportunity. The gravest danger posed to the diversity of anchored by globalization is stultifying homogenization form being sentient salves anchored in our cultures we rarer sublimated into simulacra to be sacrificed at the altar of mass consumption. The rise of the culture industry in the last century ethnocentric genres of our culture serves as a bulwark against such an embrace of Dritharashtra Mohiniattam being one among them. Probably unknown to her Dr. Radhika through her lifelong dedication to Mohiniattam has become an artistic foot soldier braving the onslaughts of rapacious commodiffication. The beauty of the struggle is that her moves on the treacherously shifting sands is a paen to the triumph these wider ideological moorings her performances wit its sensuous and abiding charm haunt the soul.

It is a privilege t have inspired this book and more so for Mathrubhumi to be given rights of publication. There can be no greater honor that being chosen to write this foreword to Dr. Kalamandalam Radhika’s Meticulously know the dancer from the dance.